Road wheel of the disk type



Sept, 1936. w. w. HAMILL 2,053,367

ROAD WHEEL OF THE DISK TYPE Filed Dec. 16, 1935 //VV/V7 0/P WILLIAM WILSON HAMILL Arrow 5y Patented Sept. 8, 1936 William Wilson Hamill, phigwell" Application December 16, Ser q In v Great Britain December;11,;19 34-.

2 Claims. (otter-er This invention relates to the kind of road wheels for self-propelled vehicles known as disk wheels, the blanks for fabrictaing which consist of a sheet or plate of metal subjectedto various manufacturing operations to produce an inner section or flange for bolting detachably to the permanent hub, an intermediate section radial inclined or curved, and'an outer flange or a number of equivalent segments for attachment of a rim constructed to carry a pneumatic tire, the said intermediate section being perforated and shaped to reduce Weight and improve the appearance.

The object of the present invention is an improved wheel of the disk type aforesaid by which the weight of the wheel can be reduced without sacrificing strength in relation to calculated stresses; which proportions weight, strength and elasticity to stress; which increases the moment of inertia of the section and its resistance in particular to lateral or sideways stresses; which if desired can be constructed to assist flow of cooling air on to the brake drum; and which can be manufactured at an economic production cost.

Having the aforesaid and other objects in view as will appear from a perusal of the following description, the present invention consists in a road wheel for self-propelled vehicles fabricated from a disk, the cross-sectional thickness of which is graduated and diminishes from the vicinity of the hub part to or towards the periphery, said disk having spaced perforations bounded by flanges projecting from the rear or inner face of the disk.

A further feature of the invention consists in so shaping the flared flanges surrounding the apertures in the wheel to induce and direct a flow of air towards and against the brake drum.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a transverse sectional elevation of an'embodiment of the invention, Figures 2 and 3 being fragmentary views of modified shapes of the disk appearing in Figure 1.

Figure 4 illustrates fragmentarily a shape of airway through the disk.

In the construction shown in Figure 1 suitable for a heavy vehicle, the outer part i of the disk is bent or turned to lie parallel to the wheel axis and is fixed by rivets or other means to the tire-carrying rim 2, the innermost section of the disk being provided with a radial flange 3 perforated by bolt holes i for bolting to the permanent hub. The intermediate graduated section of the disk is a concave annulus 5 continued as a hub portion 6 to join the hub flange 35.; v:I;I. 1;". l1is;illustrationtherflange-3 is'of constant thickness, and the disk is tapered in a straight: line from the inner commencement 1 of the concave annulus 5 to the tire-carrying flange l, at which end it is of the minimum thickness. The 5 hub section of the wheel andthe outer part of the tire-carrying rim will obviously be shaped and dimensioned to suit the particular components with which the disk is to be combined and used, and the intermediate section will also be varied for the same reasons and for appearance and strength.

The graduated disk blank is conveniently produced in a rolling mill having a pair of suitablyshape'd rolls to operate on a blank of constant thickness and displace the metal to produce the desired graduated disk which is then subjected to blanking, pressing and other operations.

A number of spaced perforations are made in the disk and one of the features of the invention lies in the shape or configuration of the metal around said perforations which instead of being plain aperturesare modified by the addition of a surrounding flange standing proud of the rear face of the disk. Such flanges increase the moment of inertia of the section transversely and are conveniently formed by plunging the perforations and displacing the metal, the rims in some cases being finally shaped by a fullering operation. The particular configuration of the flanges is capable of considerable modification one of which has for its purpose to facilitate flow of cooling air on to the brake drum associated with the wheel. In Figure 1 the intermediate section 5 of the disk has a number of perforations 9, which extend radially for the major portion of the intermediate section and are surrounded at the rear face by flanges i ii. Air flow through the perforations is assisted by curving the airway'on the entrant side as indicated at l I. In Figure 1, the annular section M of the hub 6 is shaped to provide cavities l5 wherein are accomodated the securing bolts and nuts, the intermediate circumferential parts H5 being curved in cross-section. The tire-carrying rim flange l is shown of constant thickness throughout its length though it may be tapered if desired; the intermediate section of the disk consists of an annulus which in cross-section may be concave as at 5, or straight as at l9, Figure 2, or convex as at l8, Figure 3, the cross-sectional thickness diminishing from the region of juncture with the hub part to the tire-carrying rim flange.

By shaping the flange surrounding the perforations as indicated, a vena contracta effect is chtained by out-tuming the flange at the rear face of the disk as illustrated in Figure 4 to form a conduit 20 which is constricted between its ends and is thus of larger cross-sectional area at the intake end 2| than at the delivery end 22. Such an out-turned formation is applicable to the entire perimeter of the flange or to the sides only relative to the direction of rotation, or where the external diameter approaches the inside diameter 2 of the tire-carrying rim as shown in Figure 1, the outer part 24 only of the perforation flange may be outwardly flared as indicated.

Where a considerable number of perforations are made in the disk and the metal intermediate the perforations is fashioned in the semblance of spokes, the perforations are preferably of triangular or like shape. The shaping of the metal intermediate the holes is such that the completed wheel disk has the appearance of a spoked wheel.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A vehicle wheel comprising a bolting-on portion and a radially extending disk portion, said disk portion having openings therein, each of said openings being flared to form an inwardly extending peripheral flange therearound, said flange being so bent that the opening is constricted between the outer face of the wheel and the edge of said flange to form a Venturi passage- Way.

2. In combination, a vehicle wheel, and a brake-drum associated therewith, said wheel comprising a bolting-on portion and a radially extending disk portion, said disk portion having openings in proximity to the periphery of said brake drum, said openings being flared inwardly to form curved flanges, said flanges being adapted to induce and direct a flow of air towards and against said brake drum.

WILLIAM WILSON H'AMILL. 

